The Mountain Bike season kicked off last Sunday with the first round of the Cross Country National Points series.

The race was held in Has Saptan Valley limits of Ghaxaq and was organised by Agones Sports Club in collaboration with the Malta Mountain Bike Association. The Has Saptan circuit offered different conditions including winding single tracks, technical down hills and steep inclines.

The main event of the day was the Elite race, where the riders had to cover the 5.6km circuit five times. From the start five riders took the lead of the race namely defending NPS winner Etienne Bonello of Team Greens, Maurice Formosa of The Cyclist CC, Mark Bonnici of Agones Sfc ‘Pedal Power’, Ramon Grech of Qormi CC and Jeffrey Borg of Team Greens. These five riders set the high pace through the five laps watching closely each other’s moves up until the final kilometres. It was a progression by Bonello in the final climb that tore the race apart.

He successfully managed to break loose and gained a margin of around 10 seconds with his immediate chasers breathing down his neck. Bonello managed to keep his advantage to cross the line in 1:15:40, Bonnici was second followed by Formosa and Borg 13 seconds later. Grech was forced to throw the towel after suffering mechanical problems whilst Formosa struggled to hold to the third position after sustaining two falls due to the rugged terrain.

In the other categories, Agones Sfc ‘Pedal Power’ rider Stephania Magri won the ladies race, she was offered little challenge by Marie Claire Aquilina of Team Green who suffered multiple punctures and had to retire. The sports Category was won by Qormi CC cyclist Kevin Muscat.

The Next round of the National Points series will be held on Sunday February 10, 08:30h at Mizieb, limits of Mellieha.

More information about the series can be found at agonessportclub@gmail.com.